How to visit a flooring showroom

We’ve seen many customers coming to the showroom getting more confused by all the selections. Here I’m listing the things you should be aware of when you visiting a floor showroom, hopefully this will guide you to pick the right product for your home.

• Before you visit the showroom, take a minute to check out their website and online reviews, it might already have the information you are looking for, and you can rule out showrooms that doesn’t fit your need at all.

• The color temperature (the color of the light) in the showroom might be different from your home. A light with lower color temperature results in warmer look, and higher color temperature results in cooler look. Make sure you understand the difference before you pick your floor.

• Most showroom hang their floor sample on the wall or present them vertically to same floor space. Floor displayed vertically may feel differently when lay flat on the floor. If possible, lay the sample on the floor for a more realistic look

• You want to work with people who know and love their product. The best way to find out is to talk to them, ask how their product compare to others.

• It’s hard to image a room installed with a floor, ask sales person if they have real photos of home that use this floor. That will help you visualize your style and color.

• Pay attention to knots and sap (that is the white part from the out layer of the tree, usually appear at the edge of the board). With everything trending towards natural, they become part of the style, and more knots certainly doesn’t mean they are low quality. But if you particularly don’t like them, point that out to the sales, they maybe not so obvious on the sample in the showroom, but it will be too late if you only find out your floor have too much knots after they are installed.

• Accessories like stair nose, air vent is another area many people missed. By providing accessories with same finish, you not only save cost on construction and it will look much more clean and consistent. Especial with prefinished floor, it’s very hard to find exact matching color accessories.

• Try to narrow down to 1 color or couple similar colors and ask for sample to take home. Never make rushed decisions, when it comes to floor, it will be there for decades, so take your time, bring home the sample and see if you still like them the next day.